How do we develop character at WPSA?

The Acquisition of Character

Character is primarily 'caught' i.e. it is picked up through the experiences one has. Therefore the ethos and environment that one experiences at home, in school and in the local community and the relationships with others and the role models that influence our thinking and actions are extremely important. 

However, character can also be 'taught' through explicit reference and discussion to the character virtues, their meaning and the ways in which the virtues are evident in daily life and how important they are in testing life moments e.g. situations requiring courage, empathy, compassion, honesty, judgement.

It is important that ones environment provides opportunities for character to be 'sought' i.e. opportunities for the development of personal habits and character commitments e.g. good time-keeping, care for personal appearance, correct uniform, keeping to rules, good manners, friendly relations. Initially these are learnt behaviours but as one matures they provide a foundation that allows individuals to judge how and when to apply character virtues and to seek out opportunities to do so e.g. belonging to clubs, entering into relationships with others, becoming an employee, becoming a parent.

How do we develop character at WPSA?

Character education is an integral part of school life. It underpins our school ethos, dictates our values, and is embedded across the Academy in the following ways which will use a 'caught, taught and sought' approach:

Curriculum: The development of students character attributes continues to be embedded across all aspects of our curriculum including the Twilight Curriculum. Character foci/activities are clearly outlined on all curriculum maps throughout the year for each year group in each subject area. Please visit our Curriculum Overview page on our main website where you will be able to access our curriculum maps.

Character in Action, Health & Wellbeing, Ingenium and Raise are bespoke curriculum areas at Warden Park which embody the development of specific character traits. Ingenium and Raise are offered at Key Stage 4 whilst Character in Action and Health and Wellbeing are new character initiatives in Key Stage 3.

In Ingenium, students striving for high levels of  independence, where students choose what they study, empowering them to take even greater control of their education. Raise helps students: Strive for Resilience, become active citizens in our school community, who are increasingly Inspired, and helps students to improve their Self regulation and Enthusiasm for learning. 

Character in Action provides active learning opportunities where students can explore their character development; health and wellbeing involves students learning about healthy relationships and developing their mental fitness.

Behaviour for learning policy: Our behaviour for learning policy and Communities system is based on developing students empathy, self-control, and sense of responsibility. The school takes a restorative approach to resolving conflict and preventing harm. Restorative approaches enable those who have been harmed to convey the impact of the harm to those responsible, and for those responsible to acknowledge this impact and take steps to put it right.

Student Reporting: By way of embedding character education into the very fabric of our school ethos, we have chosen to report on how each student presents their character in each subject as they progress through the school year. As such, each student is assessed across all curriculum areas on CfL (Character for Learning). Our CfL grades are shown on our main academy website here, along with the descriptors of what each grade means. Each student is assessed across all curriculum areas on CfL (Character for Learning). 

From this, all students receive a CfL score once a half term. This score combines their average CfL in lessons with a measure of their CfL outside of lessons. The former is worth 66% of the total score and the latter is worth 33%.  The more ‘Role Models’ a student achieves in their lessons, the better their ‘inside the classroom’ contribution will be. The less behaviour points a student obtains, the better their ‘outside the classroom’ contribution will be. When adding these two contributions together, we calculate the total CfL score for that half term. This is visible on the students Go4S profile and is published in the last week of each half term.

Please note that a low CfL score is the ideal, with a score of 1 being the best possible score. The lower a student's score, the greater the amount of opportunities available to them, such as fast passes for Parkes canteen, celebration breakfasts and prom discounts. Currently, a score of 2.5 or greater means that students will not be able to access certain opportunities for a whole half term, such as representing the school and attending non-curriculum enrichment events.  All CfL scores start afresh each half term, so no child is ‘stuck’ with the consequences of a poor score for longer than a half term. 

Assembly schedule and tutor program:  Character development is always a feature of our assemblies. Each assembly then has a follow up activity in tutor time to allow student the time to reflect and build on what they learned in the assembly.

Enrichment program: Enrichment takes many forms and there are many clubs that students can take part in throughout the year which allow them to develop teamwork, creativity and leadership skills as well as igniting their own passions. Enrichment week takes place in July where the timetable is collapsed for a week and students take part in a rich variety of activities and trips including : Exchange visit to France and Spain, camping trips, archery, rock climbing, water sports, and sponsored charity walks.

Student leadership opportunities: There are a plethora of societies, councils and groups that students can join not just for their own enjoyment, but also as a mechanism to be involved in school improvement.  Some of the opportunities include: joining the school eco council, becoming a student librarian, being a member of the senior leadership team, joining the 'Kindness council'. 

Staff development and Training: Staff have regular whole school INSET  on implementing the development of character within their responsibility areas. This includes training that has its roots in Martin Seligman's work on PERMA, which underpins our character and wellbeing framework.  Staff are also required to consider and develop their own character development as part of continuing professional development here at Warden Park Secondary Academy. 

The Kindness and Wellbeing Council: This group has a specific role in promoting kindness and wellbeing across the school.